My daily commute to, and from the "5.0 West" headquarters in Los Angeles, is 20 geographic miles one way. It's important to note that I refer to the distance in geographic miles here, because there are times when stacked-up traffic can make this small distance seem like it has been quadrupled. I try and make my moves between home and the office during the light-traffic windows (obscenely early in the morning, and before 4:00PM in the afternoon). If I hit it right, I'm at the office in 30 minutes, and back at home in about 45 minutes each day. But, on the occasion where I get stuck in a traffic jam going in either direction, one of the things I do to stave off boredom and get me through the journey is play "Spot-a-'Stang."

Spot-a-'Stang is a simple game I thought up one afternoon on the ride home (I'm claiming inventing it for Mustangs, but I'm pretty sure there are other fellow motorists who might also be playing the same game from their driver's seats when we're all stuck in the jam). It's simple enough to play, as the only "rule" to the game is to make a note of every '79-present Mustangs you spot as you make your way between Point A and Point B.

The tally can simply be the overall total of Ponies, or creativity can be used to break the findings out by platform (Fox, SN-95, New Edge and S197) or body style (hatchback, notchback, convertible, coupe).

I hung out at the office a little late on Monday afternoon, and the hour-long ride back to the pad afforded me enough time to have a great round of Spot-a-'Stang. Here's the breakdown of Ponies I saw on the 405 freeway, Ventura Blvd and Wilbur Blvd--the roads I travel home:

Fox Body: 0; SN-95 V-6 Coupe: 1; SN-95 V-6 Convertible: 3; SN-95 GT Coupe: 1; SN-95 GT Convertible: 1; New Edge V-6 Coupe: 2; New Edge V-6 Convertible: 0; New Edge GT Coupe: 1; New Edge GT Convertible: 0; S197 V-6 Coupe: 2; S197 V-6 Convertible: 3; S197 GT Coupe: 3; S197 GT Convertible: 1.